In a typical machine tool, such as a lathe, a work piece is gripped at one end by a work holder, such as a chuck or a collet, while the other end is supported by a tailstock. The tailstock is supported for sliding movement relative to the base of the machine tool. The tailstock also includes a quill that is supported for sliding movement relative to the tailstock body. During machining operation of a part, there is continual need to disengage the tailstock from the work piece or otherwise move the tailstock away from the work piece to its home position so that it would be out of the way of an operator. Typically, a tailstock will only have one home position which is permanently fixed. Thus, when the part being machined requires the tailstock to be moved away only a short distance and because of the limitation of the fixed home position, the operator loses valuable time when he moves the tailstock all the way to the fixed home position.
There is therefore a need for a tailstock that has an adjustable home position such that a tailstock does not have to be moved all the way to its permanent home position when only a short distance will suffice.
Typically a tailstock is moved toward the workpiece from its home position at a fixed speed which is normally slow to prevent the tailstock from damaging the workpiece. Valuable time is lost during this process, especially when the home position is further from the workpiece than necessary. There is therefore a need for a tailstock that can be moved part-way toward the workpiece at a relatively faster feed rate and then moved the rest of the way at a relatively slower feed rate until the tailstock engages the workpiece.